Is this for real?
Lady Sovereign - I Got You Dancing

         

1. I normally don't like to post twice in a row; it bugs me when others do it and I'm usually a firm believer in the Golden Rule.

But:

2. Is this what music videos have come to? Cause this has about as much production quality as a faux music video on the Chapelle show.

3. Lady Sovereign was recently touted as being one the hot new acts out of the UK and she was written up in the New Yorker and has had production offers from Neptune, Jay-Z, et. al. Can't her team drum up more than what looks to be about $15k USD of video for her?

4. I also double posted because I felt this worked in tandem with the Beyonce vid. Both are clearly trying to work some magic on minimalist budgets in the post-fileshare music world.

K

p.s. - turn off the volume and watch the first 18 seconds of the video and tell me this doesn't look like a bad joke or fan-made youtube clip.

         

I've never liked this girl. Her music, her style. But this is hilarious. Caricature. Completely unintentional though. Still didn't last more than 30 seconds (and why would I have ever listened with the sound ON)?

         

Dir.:Dandilion Wind Opaine Of Dandi Wind - www.dandiwind.com

Lo Bug. "art freaks" for sure. Been curious to see what her follow up would be. Oddly enough, I'd been looking for a grabbable version of this clip for the past couple of weeks & it winds up in a dis-post. To each there own...

Not really a fan per se, but don't mind her really & thought she was kind of funny. Naturally lots of girls like her & i get the impression she's fairly "real".

Like she says, "Love me or hate me...", The point is your talking about her.

As for the clip, there too I've seen worse & don't think it's as fan made as all of that. Kind of tired of the whole aesthetic at this point though. I'm sure there conserving & want to see what the market's gonna be like. I always thought she was fairly fluke-ish the first time around, at least state side, as so much of her shtick is very English.

Thanks for the post.

         

Thanks for the 'dir' credit hipgnosist and I'm probably being a little over-critical. The video is somewhat interesting in its aesthetic choices and in its playfulness. I don't think I can bring myself far enough around to say I like it or even to say that I think its a good video in general or a good video for Lady Sovereign in particular but I can kinda understand how other people might like it... kinda. :)

K

         

When budgets are low, the people who have really mastered the craft are squeezed out. They move onto commercials or feature work, leaving the music video world to a bunch of eager but unexperienced new directors. Take a look at Spike or Gondry's first 15 or so videos if you want to see how long it takes for a director to really understand what they're doing. Unfortunately, the turnover rate seems so high these days that by the time that a director really starts to operate at a high level of craftsmanship, they've gotten the heck out of the music video world.

It seems like most newer music video directors are heavy on the concept side of things but don't know much about giving things style or "a look", which is a what happens when you don't have the budget to shoot on film, or with a proper light kit, etc.

         

I agree with budget that most new directors are concept over style. But when you don't have production value on your side to wow the audience, a good concept can be substituted to hold their attention.

As for this video I don't think it's that terrible. Just a rip off of the movie "The Warriors"

I think the main problem is that the visuals don't fit the lyrics or music at all.

         

@kalstak: Don't get me wrong, this ones a bit of a let down considering the over all gloss of her main clips a couple of years ago. Confusing really.

@budget: no doubt about the cyclical nature of the biz.

Of late I often miss those late eighties & early nineties videos that looked so good but were not much more than well lit studio shots, quick cuts, & ultra matte overlays on good film stock.

Too bad much of that music was so lame.

         

We're at a time when ingenuity is at a premium, and that's not a bad thing, but I do miss the way certain directors used to be able to create entire worlds in their videos. The Glazers, Cunninghams, and Gondrys of the industry wouldn't be able to do much in this stripped down era.

         

of course it's low cost, but at its low cost level, I think the video has very good production value.

even though I hate the P2 dvcproHD-look of it. I would have left out a few dancers and shot on RED :D

         

looks like the Karma Police finally found her..

         

Hmmm if the hip hop career don't pan out, guess she could always audition Directer Trevor Nunn for a part in his all-singing, all-dancing musical spectacular! World conquering stage musical! Cats!

         

fuck. what was that? is this really the lead off single? this video is strangely bad. Like nothing worked. photography. framing. edit. SOV looks like she can barely be bothered to perform. she looks silly thru 90 percent of the video. I cant quite understand how this gets made and released.